Well, I've been home from BLII for two days now and it is time to start composing my article on this year's ride. Actually, I started it while actually participating in the rally but that was only in my head. Now I have to try to get all those thoughts and emotions on paper while they are still fresh.
The feedback I have received from my previous articles has indicated that people appreciate the psyche in my articles. However, this year, I feel compelled to write about that as well as the planning and some of the thoughts I had while riding the event. So here is the article on the psyche. The others may follow, time permitting.
This rally was very tough from the mental standpoint. I had no trouble riding the 7000+ miles. What I had trouble with were the emotional ups and downs. They started early and lasted throughout the event hitting an all-time low in Murdo SD.
The first one came merely hours into the event. We had planned a circuitous route to bypass Columbus rush hour construction traffic. This took us on some two lane roads south and east of Reynoldsburg. We had not gone three miles when we ran into fog. That, combined with rural rush hour traffic really slowed us down. By the time we got to Hamilton, our first bonus, others, who had waited for the AMA museum to open we also arriving at Hamilton. That meant we were already way behind in bonus points and no further ahead time-wise. What a bummer! Hope this was not indicative of the ride to come.
Then my GPS started acting up (or so I thought!). More about this later in a technical article on GPS's. It was trying to take us on roads that we did not understand. It was also trying to route us such that we would double back on our already traveled route. This was a bummer because it had performed so well in the past and really taken the pressure off map reading and allowed me to concentrate on the ride. Now I was losing faith in the GPS and had not planned a paper backup. Luckily, Bill Thweatt and I were riding together and he had the paper backup. Still it was disappointing. This could be a long ride if all the GPS was going to do for me was provide a trip computer function.
As we were eating up the miles and bonuses on the first leg, we kept meeting other riders doing the same route which meant we were not differentiating ourselves on the first leg. However, this was to be expected since I choose a conservative first leg in this type of rally.
As we approached Jackson MS, we had to decide whether or not to go after Quito. It was about a 75 mile diversion and would cost the better part of an hour and a half, cutting into our sleep time. Bill had decided to pass on it but I had not, not until we got to the go/no-go point. I also decided to pass. As it turned out, we could easily have gone for it and still gotten our full quota of rest. Despite these initial bad decisions, at the end of leg one we were mid-pack at 29th and 30th. This was OK.
When we received the bonus sheets for leg two we spent about an hour and a half planning the ride to Salt Lake City. About 2:30pm Bill says "Do you realize we have 5, 1/2 hours to get to the Navasota?" It was 300+ miles away. My second valley and this time a big one.
We were on the bikes and rolling within 15 minutes. For the next five hours the ride was really tense. We knew it would be close. Then we hit the tail end of Houston rush hour traffic and were stopped dead. My heart sank. By this time, Doug Stout on the Kawasaki 250 had joined us in the mad dash. We passed Rob Nye on the side of the road trying to patch a flat but we could not stop to help. He had everything under control so it seemed and we would not be given credit for helping a fellow rider since there was not an emergency per se. Then I looked in my mirror to see Bill pulled over on the shoulder. Another bike with a flat? Since he was my riding partner I could not leave him. That was surely the death nell for the Navasota bonus. Thankfully, it was not a flat. He had to pull over to secure something on the bike. Then traffic opened up and the dash resumed. As we neared the bonus it was a swing of emotions from "it will be close" to "Oh no, that's it. We're cooked". However, we pressed on. Finally, as we turned onto the side roads, I knew we would make it! Then came the dirt and gravel! After 5 hours of really pushing it we would miss it by mere seconds.
Finally, we pulled in, jumped off the bikes and ran to the check-in point. 7:59pm! We made it in the last minute. Another few ticks of the clock and we would have missed a BIG bonus. You can imagine the elation and relief! Five hours, 300+ miles and to arrive with SECONDS to spare. UNBELIEVABLE!!! That deserved a rest so we got something to eat and planned the rest of the trip.
As other riders arrived three and five minutes late, my heart could only go out to them for I could empathize with how they felt. Bryce Ulrich, who had messed up the start of the rally and was time barred to Baton Rouge had missed his first bonus of leg two. He was talking about just riding the ride and picking up IBET locations. Now that is discouragement. To his credit though, he did get back in the game. He said to me later that once he got his first bonus, he was re-invigorated and started going after the bonuses.
This was not to be the last of the close calls. I would have THREE more of them.
Thanks to Bill's real time planning on the bike, we modified our route to Salt Lake City. At checkpoint two we had moved up to 9th and 11th. However, a major downer was about to hit.
At the riders meeting in SLC, Eddie announced Pauline's tragedy. Everyone's heart sank. I had just started getting to know this fine woman and now she was gone from us. Gone to a better place with the Lord but gone from us nonetheless. Just a couple of nights before, we had dinner with Pauline and Richard. She was such a happy and positive person. I can still remember the last words we had in Baton Rouge. She and Richard were preparing to head out. When I asked here what route she flashed one of her patented smiles and said "South Padre! Come with us". I declined, thinking it was a sucker bonus. Little did I know.......
It took me many miles and many hours of seat time for the impact of Pauline's passing to start to diminish but I had to get back in the hunt. The rally demanded it and Pauline would want it. After all, last year when she had her accident on the original Butt Lite, she MADE Richard finish the rally while she had family take care of her. That is the kind of person Pauline was. Even now I miss her. Pauline, thanks for the time we had together, as brief as it was. You helped me in a way that others could not relate to and I thank you. I will think of you every morning, probably for the rest of my life. That will no doubt get some minds to wondering.....
As we rode east and north the bonuses continued to accumulate. We got to the Lusk turnoff and opted out of the Featherlegs Monument due to intolerable roads. Knowing some people made the trip for big points was a bit disappointing but better to pass it up than tear up my bike. When we got to Aladin WY we had about 20 minutes to spare. We took another rest break. During that time, I decided I had enough time to double back and get the Custer SD bonus. Eric Jewell shared with me that it was about 34 miles long and took him about an hour and a quarter. I had the time. Bill opted to not go with me and we agreed that he would get a motel in Fargo for me when I got there so off I went (see map).
The rains had been chasing us for some hours and now I was going to ride back and into them. Luckily, when I got to Custer the roads were dry. I logged in my start mileage and time and off I went down Highway 16. It was an easy ride and I got to the junction in Keystone in about thirty five easy minutes. What was the big deal? I logged in my ending mileage and time then headed out. Lightning was building behind me. WAIT! Something is wrong. That was only 20 miles. Re-reading the instructions, I was supposed to take 16A, not 16 (see map)! OH NO!!!!!!. After vascilating whether or not to go back and do 16A, I decided to do it. If I did not, I would really drop in the standings so off I went riding 16A from Keystone to Custer. Now I see why they routed us over that road! The first part of the road was so twisty that I must have met myself at least five times on that road. The further I rode the stronger the lightning became. I prayed, "Please Lord, hold the rain off until I get back to Custer". Well, the rain held off until I could see the lights of Custer and then the sky opened. I pulled into a gas station, recorded the mileage and time and then headed off east over Highway 16 AGAIN. Now I was really hurting for time to be in Fargo.
I decided to forego any additional bonuses, get on the freeway and outrun the rain heading for Fargo. I got on I-90 and took off. Amazingly there are no services on that highway. You have to go into the towns to get gas. I rode east for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, I pulled into a truck stop in Murdo SD. I went into the restaurant and sat down across from a local sheriff and city officer. As I ordered some food, I struck up a conversation with them. Telling them I needed to be in Fargo by 8am and had 6 hours to do 450 miles, they agreed. My goose was cooked. No way was I going to make it. Even if I got in at the tail end of the window, I would have to really boogie. And I had not had any sleep that night. I was ready to call Adam and be time barred, take a motel and get some rest. Then I looked across the street and saw another rider pull in for gas. HEY! I'm not the only one way to heck and gone out here!
Then the sheriff said, "Maybe if you take this road and this one, you might be able to make it. I came back from Aberdeen in two and a half hours a couple of weeks ago". I asked how fast he ran, 90mph? and he said it was closer to 110mph. Well I don't run that fast. Do you think the cops will bother me? He said he wouldn't and odds were the other cops were in bed. 1:48am was the time stamp on the gas receipt as I left Murdo for Fargo. Some fog closed in but I was able to make good time. Gassed up in Aberdeen and headed north. I took two Iron Butt motel breaks for 10 minutes each which refreshed me for two hours each. When dawn broke, I perked up. Getting to I-94, I turned east. I had a chance! Then, whoosh! Don Sills passed me in the left lane. I called to him on the CB and said I was latching on. Away we went. He had to pull off for gas before Fargo but I was in good shape. I motored on. Getting into Fargo, it was easy to find Ma's Cycle. I pulled in, jumped off the bike and ran up to the check in desk with TWO minutes to spare. I could not believe it. I did it! I made Fargo without penalty minutes. In the tally I dropped to 11th place but that was a whole lot better than it could have been.
Now the problem was that the last leg was upon us and I had not slept since 3:30am the PREVIOUS morning. This was not good! Getting our bonus sheets for the last leg, there was only one set but it must have contained 50 bonuses. I took a motel room with the intent of getting some sleep and planning the last leg. Bill's mom had been in the hospital and her condition was not improving so he decided to swing by the hospital in the UP of Michigan on his way to Columbus. This would mean foregoing all but 1000 bonus points but seeing his mom would be a lot more important than a good finish in the rally. I decided to go for the home run. There was a super bonus if you got all six Laura Ingalls Wilder bonuses. Remembering last year and how Eric Jewell went for the home run and won the rally, I just KNEW this was the secret to finishing well if not winning this event. The bonuses would take me way south again to Independence KS and Mansfield MO, both of which were daylight hours bonuses. It was a 2200 mile ride. I checked out of the motel room just as the skies opened again. This delayed my departure about an hour. Finally I got rolling, heading south (with no sleep!) but feeling really good. The problem was, there was another bonus that was daylight hours that I had to get this day. When I realized the time constraint I started booking it again.
I found the bonus in De Smet SD and got a picture of the house "that Pa built". The problem was that I was supposed to get a picture of the sign in front of the house. This cost me 470 points. More on this later. Then it was on to Walnut Grove MN, dodging radar as I went. In one stretch of 10 miles I counted FIVE different radar sites. This slowed me down and I began to worry about making Walnut Grove before dusk. The GPS has a sun and moon information page so I kept track of sunset and my miles to go, racing the setting sun. I pulled in to the site just as the sun was setting and managed to get the obligatory picture in the day's final fading rays. Whew! That was number three in close calls. There was to be one more.
Along about 10pm the sleep nods were setting in so I found a motel and shut down for a four hour sleep, asking for wake up at 2:30am. Oh yeah. By this time I had lost my low beam headlight and one of my lower driving lights. This meant I only had one 55 watt lower driving light on low beam. Wake up came at 2:30am but I rolled over for another hour's sleep, waking myself at 3:30am. Little did I know what was ahead. I got up, packed the bike and got rolling into a thick fog. Thankfully it was freeway riding so I was able to make some reasonable time. I rolled on to Pepin WI and Burr Oak IA getting these bonuses and then headed for a big bonus at McGregor IA. It was here that reality set in.
It was now 10:30am. Sunset for this day was at 7:48pm and I had 775 miles to go to get to Mansfield MO, the last timed bonus. Nine and a half hours for 775 miles. I just could not do it! There went the super bonus. Little did I realize that the super bonus went bye bye back in De Smet when I got a picture of the house and not the sign. I quickly looked at the remaining bonuses and realized that there were some healthy ones in Kansas City and Independence but Independence was a daylight bonus as well. It was 575 miles away. I could make it if I really hustled so off I went. I picked up Kansas City pretty easily, leaving the people at the BBQ joint wondering why I would buy and order of fries and not take them. Now it was 150 miles to Independence KS and I had a little over two hours to get there. Most of it was two lane road and I needed gas. This was going to be really tight. The bonus was worth 1060 points. I boogied down the road constantly recalculating my ETA. Would I make it or not? As I ride along, it strikes me. The setting sun is just like Father Time. It is going to set at 7:48PM, no matter what I do. What a helpless feeling. If only there was some way to slow its progress down....
Then I realize, the bonus is FIFTEEN miles the OTHER SIDE of Independence. OH NO! Remember, I am in day seven of this ride so my thinking is not really clear. Got to press on. I've come this far. Can't quit now! Here comes a doe but thankfully I see her well in advance and slow down as we are on a collision course.
Finally, Independence. Only fifteen miles to go. I was at this bonus on last year's Butt Lite so I knew what to look for. Would you believe. I pulled into the bonus at the exact moment the sun was setting! YES! That was four close calls with the clock and four that I had succeeded in achieving, Navasota, Fargo, Walnut Grove and now Independence KS. All along the way for the whole seven days I had asked the Lord for travelling mercies and he had granted them. I had one more waiting for me.....
I went back into Independence for a much deserved break. I had to fix my lights (yes I had spares) and I wanted to see if there were other bonuses that I could pick up since the super bonus was gone. I took a two hour break, dug out my bonus sheets, PC, GPS etc and sat down in a corner of a Subway shop to see what my options were. They weren't many. I was 800 miles from Columbus and only one bonus worth 413 points, not a good ratio of points to miles. All I could do now was to press on. My fate was cast. Then I realized it was 11:00pm Columbus time. I had 16 hours to get to Columbus and I had some two lane to cover to get to the interstate. Just as I was pulling out of the gas station, another biker pulled up on a Shadow, wearing a foot cast. Seems he had tangled with a deer and warned me about them. GREAT! I headed east, chose a bad road but continued to boogey. Every time I came near a small town my radar would go off and I would have to slow down. Running down one lonely stretch of blacktop that was straight as an arrow I closed in on a couple of cars ahead. As I get close to them my radar detector lights up the night, full blast and sends a rush of adrenalin through my body. The car ahead is a police car and I have just been nailed. Sure enough, the sheriff pulls me over. As I am getting off the bike he says something to me. "I'm sorry officer, I have ear plugs in. Just a minute". To my surprise he responds "That's alright. I clocked you at XXmph in a 65. Please slow down. I don't want to be called back out here to find you having hit a deer". What do you suppose my reply was?
I was within 15-20 miles of the interstate so I slowed it down until I got to the security of the four lane. Pushing onward through the night I was forced to take two Iron Butt Motel breaks. The first one for 10 minutes but the next one for an hour. In all of these breaks, I didn't set the screaming meanie. I seem to have the ability to tell my body how much down time I want and I wake up at that pre-programmed time. When I awaken from the hour's rest, I am somewhat dizzy and disoriented - too much sleep! I push on through the night and finally, as the last day breaks, I perk up. Thankfully there is cloud cover that blocks the rising sun which makes travelling east at sunrise so much more tolerable.
One last break at a rest stop in Indiana to see if I can pick up any more bonuses. No such luck so I go for the final bonus south of Indianapolis and it is on to Columbus.
I arrive in plenty of time but I am spent! As I started the final leg from Fargo to Columbus, I resolved to leave nothing in the tank and that is exactly what I did. Arriving in Columbus, I checked in to the motel, went to my room and prepared the final bonus sheets. It was then that I realized my mistake in De Smet some 1900 miles ago. Even if I had made Mansfield I would have lost the super bonus. Then I totalled my points. I was pleasantly surprised with 5944 until I saw Dan Stephens II get over 10,000 points. When Bill pulled in, I found out he did not have to go to the UP and ended up chasing bonuses. His total was 7130, placing him 12th, two positions ahead of me as we were to find out at the banquet.
All in all it was a good rally for me. I achieved two of my three goals. I did 5000 miles in five days for the Iron Butt certificate and I did 7000 miles in seven days (actually 7344 miles). The one I missed was finishing in the top ten. I made a conscious decision to go for the home run. Had I made it, I would have finished second. As it was, I finished 14th. Hey, I went for it.
Reflecting back on the seven days, there is not much I would do differently. I would still go for the super bonus but I would be fresh going into the last leg. Not getting any quality rest going into Fargo was a mistake.
I also found out how little sleep I could run on. During that seven days, I was on a pace that matched Ron Ayres on his 7-49 ride. Not that I am comparing myself to Ron but I know I can ride with a minimum of sleep and I learned how to use the Iron Butt motel properly.
Running with Bill Thweatt was a good thing. He is the thinker and planner. I am the doer. He kept us on the right path, constantly thinking, planning and working the various alternatives in his mind. I kept us moving. I was the one that got us into Navasota on time. I also made the other three tight timeframes. It was enjoyable to have Bill in my mirror for most of the seven days but it was also fun to ride solo when I had the deadlines. It was very stressful going into Navasota with two bikes behind me. I really felt like I was pulling them along but I did not let them slow me down.
Would I do it again? You bet! Would I do it with Bill? You bet? Hey Bill, let's be in Atlanta the end of August next year with our bikes prep'd and our check books out.
Hey Adam and Eddie. You organized and executed an outstanding rally. The mistakes made were mine, not yours. I hope I learned from them.
See you guys in two years for Butt Lite III, nine days, nine thousand miles......
